Panasonic's Official dead &/or stuck live pixel policy, buzz and S-video lock

encaser · 04-07-2002, 7:14 PM

I spoke with a Panasonic tech' today and asked about any policy regarding the above. He emphatically stated Panasonic do have a written policy and this is it:

One or more stuck live pixels are unacceptable and warrant a replacement panel.

Three red &/or blue dead sub pixels in the inner area are acceptable and do not warrant a new screen as long as they are not bunched less than 5cm's together. However, green dead pixels are unacceptable and deem replacement.

Six red or blue dead sub pixels around the outer screen area are acceptable but not closer than 5cm's grouped. Again dead green ones are unacceptable.

Pixel life span is not forseeable with any certainty so a extended warranty for those of nervous/prudent disposition - the guy laughed when I asked for lifespan estimate of pixels, (bleeps).

Oh and apparently if your panel buzzes, it's to be expected as they all buzz. In his words, "...Your caught between a rock and a hard place here, in that it's either capacitor noise or fan noise. And Panasonic use the retake of power in the unit because it's a basicly a massive capacitor using 300w of power. No fans is quieter and all plasmas make a buzz noise and anyone who tells you differently is lying...If you hang it on the wall it'll add to the buzz...We have extremely high QC levels and all panels made in 2002 are error free". I said, "All panels? No faulty units?" He said, "That's right because the QC is extremely high".
The poor guy said he had a number of calls to make as Panasonic had received a lot of calls regarding buzz but he was going to set everyone straight.
And the zoom lock on the S-video is the "fault" of "Asian manufacturers, pc's and weird makes like Tag and the like with their DC push for S-video signals..." I said to him it's not exactly good for the consumer who has to buy hoping their video/dvd doesn't have the DC push. The tech said "...Hum. Anything else you'd like to know? Or perhaps you could call your dealer and they can work with us..."

So there you have it.

Kirk · 04-07-2002, 7:31 PM

Hmmmm can you or anyone else bear testimony to the comment about these panels being nosier when hung on a wall?

I was going to hang mine over my fireplace, I guess just getting a stand and plonking it ontop of the mantle piece is the better idea if that is true!

encaser · 04-07-2002, 9:25 PM

The way the Panasonic tech' spoke it's a lie back and think of England scenario. I have noted from placing mine, that when it's in front of a window on a cabinet with curtains closed, they reduce the noise a bit. However, it stands to reason that a solid surface (i.e. wall - the tech's argument) will reflect noise as it ricochets from the unit to wall and finally escapes amplified.
The 'real' question is how loud is acceptable? I don't know anyone else with a panel so I can't straw pole it. But from talking to Joe Fernand at tmfsolutions.co.uk who supplies panels (not mine incidentally) he tells me that a customer should not really be hearing a panel from 10 feet away. Plus if you check on the avsforum.com there are plenty of US folks who had units which buzzed and caused distraction, so Panasonic US was supposed to have remedied the situation with quieter capacitors. I made this point and was categorically told that as my unit is 2002 production it's as quiet as it's gonna get. So I have two choices; either put the unit near a (new) thick pair of sound soaking curtains or reissue my complaint and force Panasonic to collect the unit when they have loan models available and hope it comes back quieter and not just returned 'in spec'. The latter could prove an uphill battle as, noted above, Panasonic are getting tech's to phone people and tell them to expect a buzz with this technology. And to talk of the subjectivity of acceptability of noise differing person to person. Clever arguments from Panasonic, but annoying.

Nike · 05-07-2002, 3:06 PM

Well I have a buzzing Pana PW4.
It has been back to Panasonic & supposedly had PSU capacitors replaced, but it is still buzzing & I can hear it from my seated position 10 feet away.
Interestingly the PW3 I had on loan was actually quieter.

It's mounted on a tilt wall bracket, but I first noticed the buzzing when I tested it before intalling on the wall mount.

Most of my film watching is after kids have gone to bed - So it's not realistic to 'drown out the buzz' with the soundtrack.
Even action films with loud soundtracks can have quiet bits where the only soundtrack is dialogue though.

I'm still waiting on the screen supplier to get back to me. (no names!) Unless I can get an acceptably quiet screen from Panasonic, I'm going to have to consider an alternative as there is no way my screen is 'acceptable' for $4k. It wouldn't be acceptable if it was a £500 tv.

I know from other threads, both here & on the avs forum that there are Panny owners with silent screens (unless they're all lying!). After spending more than I've ever spent on a car (but not a bike!), I'm feeling more than a little gutted.

Fantastic picture though...

encaser · 05-07-2002, 10:56 PM

Um, only thing you can do beside take a dif make/model is possibly get a few sound soak tiles to kill ricochet off wall - can't for the life of me think proper name, hik.